12 Nov 2014

We know what losing something valuable means, don't we? We've worked hard for a car but somebody bumped into us on the corner of that street.

If you feel that upset for your car, can you imagine what Lachlon's parents are feeling, worrying everyday if their baby is still breathing? Put aside the commercial purpose of Christmas and human greediness, and think for a while about the true message that is hidden in there. Let's make this Christmas memorable for Lochlan's family by showing them that we can spare a pound each and show how much we care about this little boy.

Lochlan was diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), a disease that degenerates his little muscles, making his life expectancy extremely low.

He frequently has to attend Great Ormond Street Hospital for Regular Checks and they have strongly recommended that he should have daily Hydro-Therapy sessions to help stimulate his muscles. To help alleviate the trauma of regular hospital visits, Lochlan would greatly benefit from being able to have these sessions at home. The use of a sensory room has also been recommended as it has been proven to be a vital and effective part in the relaxation of sensory disorders within children.

The total costing to complete this appeal will be £8250

To make a donation please use the DONATE button on the right side of our blog (Paypal spyrou.chr@gmail.com) , or call 0800 298 4275 and reference Kristofer Spyrou blog and Lachlon.

18 Dec 2013

It's just another typical night with my friends: booze, smoke and a good conversation. I've said many times before in previous posts how much my friends mean to me, and it is all true. My friends are caring, fun to be with, and also very talented.

One of my very good friends is a writer - an exquisite one may I add - who just allowed me to read a piece of his work: Ghosts and Monsters. His name is Taran Wilmore and he might be, perhaps, the only author I know whose imagination is of astonishing capability, and who can ''travel'' you to the most breath-taking sets.

Taran is working on a novella that will definitely blow your mind away. But until then, I have decided to share with you a short piece he has written about the nature of heroism, the aforementioned: Ghosts and Monsters.

They call us heroes. We leave as heroes, we fight as heroes,
and, regardless of how much of us actually makes it back, we’ll return as
heroes. Some of those will be lucky enough to have died as heroes; to be
remembered as heroes. But for the rest of us, though we’ll live on, I guarantee
there will be nothing heroic about it. We’re all just ghosts and monsters.

If there’s
one thing I’ve settled on, it’s this - Heroes save: They do not
kill. And that’s the great flaw, you see? They send us out here to be heroes,
but what do we save? We just perpetuate more misery, more death and
destruction. A hero would be lauded, but not us: We’re feared. And what sort of
hero is it that spreads fear? What kind of saviour is that?

At best we
are survivors, doing whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of ourselves
and of those immediately around us. We kill so as not to be killed, and we kill
those that would kill our kin so that those kin may in turn kill those who
would kill us. We are here by some cruel mistake. We are here because we
believed in something. We believed in an ideal, that of the hero. The man
leaves, he fights, he overcomes, and the man returns a hero. In theory it holds
water. But in practice? In practice it all dissolves in blood. We find
ourselves killing to survive, but every kill takes a part of us too. We long
for life, and yet we survive as ghosts. It’s a cruel parody: We are ghosts of the body, for we are barely there in soul.

But what of
the worst us? Hah! At worst we are just murderers; base and despicable. We are
those that take joy in the hunt and the kill, convincing others -
convincing ourselves even - that it all serves some higher purpose. These people
before us are people that deserve to die, and we are the ones to pass that
holiest of judgments. In the foulest of ironies we sacrifice our own heroism in
order to make heroes of others. And this thrills us. We long to cause death and
so survive only as monsters. The body remains, but that which it contains is
human no longer.

I’ve heard
it said that death serves no purpose, but I know this to be false. A great man
once said that the secret of evolution is time and death, and what greater
purpose is there? My only hope now is that with enough time, and with enough
death, none like us will remain. I dream that we will wipe out one another and
leave only those we would otherwise have been harmed: That the world will one day be
rid of its ghosts and of its monsters.

The tattoo sounds.

Perhaps, when that day comes we will be forgiven for our crimes.
But for now: It’s time to play Heroes.

22 Sep 2013

Dear Friends and Booklovers,

We are thrilled to announce the creation of our very own Book & Drama Club. As a group of
creative and artistic people (Actors, Writers, Filmmakers, Directors),
we feel extremely passionate about the theatre, books and arts, and
would like to share our knowledge with the rest of the arty society of
London.We are looking for people, who love the arts as much as we do and would like to be a part of this club.

Mission Statement

Book Club

I. To develop the members’ literary experience by:

Reading quality works of any genre

Reading books by new authors that are worth recognition

Introducing members to both new and well-established authors

II. To support authors’ work by:

Providing book reviews and uploading them on our unique website

Supporting literary events and author book signings

III. To give readers and writers a chance to get together and collaborate by:

Introducing new members or visitors to our meetings

Giving feedback to our writers who want advice on how to finish or start a novel

Organising workshops and seminars on creative writing

Drama Club

I. To encourage interest in all aspects of drama II. To help people of any age - regardless of acting experience - improve their acting skills through workshops and seminars III. To learn more about the art of Acting, Singing, Dancing and Mask & Costume creation IV. To introduce more people to the London Acting Scene by visiting West End and Off West End shows V. Discuss Plays

The Goal

The
goal is to establish an incredible team of people who will support this
club, and share opinions and knowledge. This team of people will gain
experience, by attending our meetings, workshops, seminars and acting
projects we might put on, and improve their knowledge in Writing and
Acting.

The Book &
Drama Club will gather once a week in a venue (small theatre or lounge)
and discuss a book of different genre each week. New writers need our
support and our book club will help them get more recognised. We can
talk about the book and write a review about it on our website. We can
also discuss already established and well known authors and exchange
opinions. In
the book club, you will have the chance to share your writing knowledge
and your own stories (if you are an author or somebody who just loves
writing). There will be often writing seminars which you can contribute
to as well. The
Drama Club will also be held once a week (maybe on the same day), where
we will be talking about current shows in the London and Regional
theatres. Actors can share their acting knowledge with new people and we
will also be holding acting, singing and dancing seminars.

WE NEED MEMBERS & PEOPLE IN THE CREATIVE TEAM

Members

If
you want to be a member, contact us to obtain more information about
the Book & Drama Club to earn your membership. Members can bring a
friend for free. Memberships (Subject to be renewed when expired) £20 or more - You pay for three months of meetings, workshops, seminars, which you can attend once or twice a week. £40
or more - You pay for five months of meetings, workshops, seminars,
which you can attend once or twice a week. Members of this category can
bring a friend to any meeting for free (once during membership) £60
or more - You pay for eight months of meetings, workshops, seminars,
which you can attend once or twice week. Members of this category can
bring a friend to any meeting for free (twice during membership) £80
or more - You pay for a year’s meetings, workshops, seminars, which you
can attend once or twice a week. Members of this category can bring a
friend to any meeting for free (three times during membership)

CREATIVE TEAM (4 positions)

The Creative Team
are actors, writers, dancers, filmmakers and directors. They will be
selected carefully by our team and they will be assigned roles so that
the Book & Drama Club can run efficiently. The Creative team
is an unpaid position, because all expenses will go into renting a
venue, food and drinks for our attendees and for actors and writers who
can contribute to our meetings. Send CV to kristoferspy@gmail.com and tell us about you!

REGULARS

Regulars are
people who pay membership for one month, if they are not sure they can
attend the next one. Once the Book & Drama Club is established,
people will be required to pay £10 per month to attend our meetings.
These people are not members, but simply Regulars. A Member who secures a
Membership now for £20 per three months, saves £40 a year which a
Regular will have to pay. Regulars must secure a place before an
event/meeting.

VISITORS

A Visitor is a
person who is not sure how many meetings he wants to attend per month.
If you are not sure how often you can be coming to our meetings, the
entrance fee will be £5 each time. (4-5 meetings a month = £20-£25 –
which is the price of a three month membership) Members and Regulars already cover their entrance for any special seminars or workshop we will be having. Visitors will
have to pay £10 entrance fee when we will be holding a special event
(Acting seminar, tap class, puppet theatre workshop, mask and costume
design workshop, book signings with the actual authors etc.)

SPONSORS

Sponsorships are
welcome. If you would like to sponsor us and advertise through us, or
would like to sponsor an event we need to hold, then contact us for more
information. Sponsors are not
members: They are individuals or organisations who are just interested
in advertising themselves through us, by supporting the Club
financially.

''There is a strong reason why I have chosen this chairty and I would love
to raise a nice amount of money so we can help those with blood cancer.'' P. Ratcliffe

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your
details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send
unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to
the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and
cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.

5 Aug 2013

Emmy Yoshida’s red and elegant dress caught everyone’s attention in that corner of WH Smith in Bromley when I walked inside to get my newspaper. She was sitting at the table holding a pen, waiting for the next person to come get their copy of her novel Corrupted, signed. Being a writer myself, I couldn’t leave the place without knowing more about the book and Emmy herself.

Her joyful personality, and the brief description she gave me about the plot definitely made me want to purchase a copy and find out more about Emmy and the character ‘’Ria’’, who is based on her life experiences working as an exotic dancer in Sydney. Ria is very naïve and selfish at first but by the end of the book, she grows up and learns some very hard truths about life. Yoshida’s glamorousness and sex appeal is definitely translated well onto her book’s pages.

‘’Any woman can relate to Ria, especially when she becomes a victim to
domestic violence. Ria, is survivor like myself’’

The story revolves around the life of Ria Kimura; ‘’a beautiful, wild and naïve’’ woman, as she describes her, who decided to live each day as if it was her last. Ria’s awakening came to her after her father’s sudden passing. A fashion design graduate who thought that making money was not as easy as she thought it might be, especially living in London where there is a lot of competition. The book has almost the same ‘’atmosphere’’ as Magnanti’s The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl - as far as it involves a stunning girl, who uses her looks to get the attention of extremely wealthy men. Soon she meets Brad Harrison, who makes her an offer she can’t refuse. Now, I won’t spoil the rest of the book, but we are definitely giving Corrupted five stars. There is no question as to why it was described by Tony Flood as a book in which ‘’pages are dripping with suspense and sexual tension’’. Undoubtedly, this is the most captivating erotic debut novel I have ever read.

Emmy’s decision to become an author was never a conscious decision.

''It just happened. I re-discovered my love for writing after having my son Enzo. As a single mother I had a lot of lonely nights to get through and I wanted to spend it constructively doing something I enjoyed and found stimulating. Writing and being creative has always been an important outlet for me, I feel like I start to go mad sometimes when I am not using my brain''

Before Enzo, she was distracting herself for a long time by having a crazy life. ''I couldn't ever sit still and was always out, clubbing and bar hopping, but having my son gave me the time to re-assess what I wanted from my life again and actually spend time alone with my thoughts. Those thoughts when directed towards writing my novel developed into an obsession, until before I knew it I had finished my first book''

She feels that for a person of her age, she has a lot of life experience to draw upon for her writing.

''I am half Japanese, half English so growing up with two cultures has made me an open-minded person. I did a fashion degree at the London College of Fashion and lived in Australia for two years. Most of my work experience has revolved around sales and I spent a long time working as an exotic dancer in Sydney. I always used to aspire towards living my life for the moment and as a result had a wealth of experiences good and bad to inspire me. From the moment I found out I was having my son, it was the beginning of a new life for me and writing is now an important part of my life again and gives me great fulfillment''

How autobiographical is Corrupted?

I initially decided to write about my experiences of working as an exotic dancer in London and Sydney after taking a write-your-own-life-story class. I soon realised that I wanted to write a novel and use my imagination to construct a plot. Many of the things my main character Ria goes through in the book are based on what I have been through. Writing some of the chapters in Corrupted made me revisit times of my life that I had buried for a long time, particularly when she becomes a victim to domestic violence. I wanted my book to convey that it is something that can happen to any woman; my character Ria is a survivor like me.

Corrupted is also an interesting insight into the Champagne lifestyle led by many high-class strippers and the highs and lows that are a part of working in that industry. Many young girls get into stripping to fund their studies or their travels but some get accustomed to the high amount of money they can earn and find themselves trapped and addicted to the excitement and glamour.

''It was a time of my life I will never forget; although I am glad I have put it behind me now, it was a real eye-opener. It's unbelievable how much my life has changed since then and it has given me great material for my writing''

This is your debut novel. Should the readers expect more from you? ''At the moment I am working hard balancing looking after my son with promoting Corrupted, and writing my next novel. My next one is a suspense novel as well, and is so far a very gritty story that will hopefully keep readers guessing. I am also interviewing women for a non-fiction book I am writing entitled; “You're not alone, a guide to being single and pregnant.” I am hoping the collection of stories and experiences will inspire women who are going through a pregnancy alone, give them hope that they can get through it, and entertain them too''What inspires you? ''I am inspired by the people I meet in everyday life. Every person on this planet is a unique being with their own stories and character flaws and passions. I try to meet as many people as I can and respect different views and cultures and opinions. Everyone is a potential character for one of my books, from the people at my writers group, to the friendly check-out lady at the supermarket, to the dishevelled misfit standing at the end of the bar by himself. Strong people inspire me also, people who have gone through tragedies and faced circumstances that most of us can only even imagine and have come through it all with a positive outlook. People who are courageous enough to follow their dreams and make their own rules in life and don't feel the need to conform with what society deems to be the norm. They inspire me to do what I love and believe in myself''

Who do you read/suggest?

''I have always loved books with a passion, as a child I grew up reading classic literature and fantasy books like The Hobbit. My favourite book as a girl was, Anne Of Green Gables, by L.M Montgomery, a heart-warming novel about a young orphan girl who is a magnet for disaster. Nowadays my taste is very broad, I read depending on what mood I am in, but I favour suspense novels. My favourite books that I have read recently include, Room by Emma Donoghue, Before I go To Sleep by S.J Watson, and The Devil Of Nanking by Mo Hayder. I found the Mo Hayder novel particularly interesting as it was about a girl who becomes a hostess in Tokyo, based on the author's own experiences. The plot is full of twists that had me gripped with every page I read and contained a wealth of historical reference relating to China and Japan that made me truly feel like I was being transported to a different world, which for me is one of the greatest thrills about reading; it can take you anywhere''

Tip from Emmy for aspiring writers:

Follow your dreams, live every day like it's your last and don't ever regret anything you have done; it could all be riveting material for your next book! Follow Emmy on Twitter: @EmmyYoshidaCheck out her books and upcoming projects as well as book signings: www.corruptedbook.comKeep in touch with Emmy on her blog:Emmy Yoshida's Blog

19 Jul 2013

Oh La La (ParisJet'aime)

I
recently went on a mini French adventure and one of the stops on the
way down to the south of France just happened to be Disneyland!

I was so excited, finally at 20 years of age I was going to Disneyland!
However, considering that Paris is one of the fashion capitals, I was
not blown away by the French attire. So, in this post I have decided to
step aside from the fashion of the everyday people and look at the
fashion of the Disney characters. The characters looked all so magical,
it made me want to relive my childhood and find my Prince Charming!
(Meh)

Here are a couple of examples of the Disney Fashion:

Princess Tiana

Such
a pretty princess, however, the dress makes her look enormous and the
top half of this outfit just makes her look like the mistress of a
Victorian orphanage. A slimmer fitting cut to the bodice of the dress
would be far more flattering.

Peter Pan

The
boy that never grew up, and it seems his fashion never grew old either.
Peter Pan was way ahead of his time wearing leggings, I mean the
lengths that many guys go to today to get those extra tight skinny
jeans, why not just get a pair of tights / leggings? Instead of
squeezing into a pair of skinny jeans made for women, I’m sure leggings
and tights would allow a bit of extra stretch for the male area.

Queen of Hearts

I
love how all the evil characters of Disney are made to look so hideous.
I guess that beauty, as well as on the inside, is definitely portrayed
on the outside. Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of Hearts is a well-known
Queen Bitch! Her outfit looks like a combination of a traffic hazard
sign mixed with the bulging red eyes of a highly poisonous black widow
spider. The whole outfit screams danger and monstrosity - ‘Off with her
head’.

10 Jul 2013

Hugh Howey started his career as a yacht captain, who loved writing in his free time. Having traveled in many places and seen many things throughout the years, has definitely ''trained'' his imagination. In July 2011 he decides to self-publish a short story, that would soon change his life.

''I’ll go back to being a struggling artist at any time, and I’m completely cool with that''

The story of Wool is set in the future, where society must live in the subterranean Silo cities, because something has happened to the outside world. ‘’I imagined a society living in one of Plato’s caves, where the inhabitants couldn’t see the true form of things but rather relied on shadows projected on a wall. Would these people want to venture out if they were only shown the worst of the world? The Silo grew around this idea.’’ The Wool story was published through Amazon Kindle Platform initially as a short story. Howey never imagined that it would reach a big audience, making readers thirsty for more. The first book was published sometime in July 2011, while Howey was working on full length novels of more than 400 pages, until October 2011 something incredible happened. Wool outsold the rest of his novels by thousands and so he knew this was an opportunity he should not ignore. The readers’ demand was different than he expected and thus the creation of the Wool Series was the logical next step. ‘’There were some challenges trying to find new characters and make the plot bigger, but it wasn’t all that hard. The magic of writing is that you can do anything you want. Creating new characters is a cinch. Learning this, gives you the freedom to kill off characters. It allows you to really play with the story structure. The only challenge, really, was determining the scope of the entire story and sticking to that. You can really get carried away if you’re not careful.’’ Howey’s inspiration comes from all the other stories he reads, the shows he watches as well as films. ‘’I also get a lot of inspiration from reading the newspaper every single day and every author should read it! Current events give your writing honesty and realism. My family and friends, my wife, my sister and my mother, have also a great impact when it comes to inspiration.’’ When it comes to reading other authors, Howey’s preferences are the exact opposite from what he enjoys writing. ‘’I mostly read non-fiction; History, psychology and philosophy. I want to learn about people. Reading within my genre is limiting for some reason.’’ With this level of sudden and continuous success, do you feel like you want to concentrate only on writing more books? ‘’I have a lot of stories I want to tell, and that hasn’t changed because of my sudden success. I keep telling myself that this is a temporary occurrence, which I’ll go back to being a struggling artist at any time, and I’m completely cool with that. I’ll still write the works I have locked up inside me and I’ll do it because I love it.’’ What added to his success was the news from 20th Century Fox, who decided to buy the movie rights for Wool. ‘’I was gobsmacked! The first offers came out of the blue and then more and more producers and Hollywood titans got involved. I couldn’t believe the conversations I was having every day. To end up with Steve Zaillian and Ridley Scott has just been a dream come true.’’

How involved are you in the creation and process of the film? Usually, Hollywood producers want to change things, and that often leaves authors dissatisfied. ‘’They flew me out to Hollywood to meet with the screenwriter, and we went over a ton of things. I think it’s natural and necessary to modify a book to fit the silver screen. You have a story that takes twelve hours to read, and it needs to be compressed into two hours. You have a story heavy on narrative that needs more action and movement. The changes they have planned are ones I support with every ounce of my being. The book won’t change; it’ll always be the book. I want them to make the best movie they know how, and that means keeping out of their way and supporting their creative vision.’’ Howey, has signed a book deal with Random House UK for the non-U.S. English rights. He saw these deals as not infringing on his self-publishing success in the US. ‘’The only other deal I signed was with Simon & Schuster, and that was a print-only deal where I keep the digital rights and they are able to produce a print edition for bookstores. This was the first such deal signed with a Big-6 publisher. I still consider myself a self-published author first and foremost, but I’ve been delighted to partner with major publishers where it makes sense for my readers to do so.’’

Most self-published authors publish through the KDP platform because either they were rejected numerous times from traditional publishers, or because they think that they have no chance to get published traditionally. Sadly, many authors think that when they publish their book, a traditional publisher and a film producer will approach them. Was this ever the deal with you? Did you think that this could ever happen to you? ‘’My very first novel was published by a small press. After seeing what was involved with producing a book and getting it distributed, I decided to self-publish my second and have never looked back. I’m one of an increasing number of writers who self-publishes not because I have to but because I want to. I think this number will greatly increase over the coming years. An astonishing number of advantages come from self-publishing. The biggest of these is the freedom to spend more time writing and less time worrying about getting published. You can write, revise, and edit a novel in a few months, spend a weekend making it available, and then get back to writing the next work. There’s no hurry for any of these works to take off immediately, no grueling promotional schedules, just the next story. That was the attitude I took. I never cared how quickly my success came or how much of it I enjoyed. It was all about the writing. The joy of writing.’’ Name three things you can do now after Wool’s success, that you didn’t have the time or opportunity to do before ‘’The first and most important is that I have more time with my family. Writing and working a full time job is laborious. You have to give up a lot of free time that would otherwise be spent with family. The second thing is the travel I get to do. I’m on the road a lot with book conventions and book tours, and I couldn’t do that before with limited vacation days at my bookstore job. The last is the ability to connect with amazing people. Not just my readers, who astound me every day, but the other authors that I’ve come in contact with. It’s incredible the people who will now return my calls!’’ Howey finishes by stating that the best part of his success is getting up in the morning, leaving his pajamas on and working for himself. Hugh Howey is wrapping up DUST, which completes the Silo Saga. It’s due out on August 17th which gives new readers time to go out and get through WOOL and SHIFT before the final book hits! To learn more about Hugh Howey, you can click here for his website.Follow Hugh on Twitter and check out his Amazon Page for all his books.

30 Jun 2013

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15 Jun 2013

''By the End of this Interview with Linda, I was in
tears'' -Kristofer Spyrou

It might be the longest interview in my blog, but that is
because each word she spoke was a hidden treasure. A Woman who can inspire
thousands of people. Linda Nance, is a personality who is stronger than the thickest steel.

When I decided to start interviewing artists (authors,
actors, musicians) for my blog, I’ve always made sure I find
something interesting about that person. I do a lot of research online, trying
to find the people who I think they have something to say. Sometimes,
I meet people who are an example of strength and creativity, and Linda Nance
does not lack these two qualities.

''One of the hardest things to write as an author, is
your own story’’

When I discovered Linda, I was fascinated by her story, which
she often mentions in her blog and in her books. The way she is replying to my questions, makes me think of
an artist whose painting is a reflection of his inner world. For most of us, Linda is a great author. But Linda is also a daughter, a mother, a grandmother, a caregiver, a friend, a neighbor.

Seeing the things that she has written become books that she
can hold in her hands and read on a kindle, is a thrill for her like none she
has ever known. ''It is like watching a dream become a reality. As much as
writing is a part of me, I think art and crafts are too. When I see a
beautiful sunset I can not resist trying to take a picture or paint it. I
see it, I feel it and the words seem to come with the emotions the sight
inspires. Would that also make me an author or writer and an artist.’’. She is the definition of a multi-talented individual. ''I like to hand-sculpt flowers. I used to do
it in clay too but my hands give me a bit of problem and some clay is a little
stiff. I may try again to sculpt and fire things one day in the
future’’.

The thought of writing and having a book published was only a
dream. The encouragement from her daughter and husband, is what gave her
the courage to begin this journey. Her combination of Art and words, was clear in our interview. ''I did not decide to ever become a writer but have always
loved to write. There have been times I would look for just the right
card for a friend or loved one and none of them seemed to capture and say what
I wanted to share. Several times, I've painted a small painting and
made my own card. I have heard from some that they have kept them all
through the years and several even admitted they had them framed. I don't
know if they really liked the pictures that well, or the feeling with the words
or both.’’

She remembers years ago, on several occasions she would help her daughter write a short story
for a school project. ''She thought it was impossible. I have always loved
to talk with children and encourage them to use their creativity and
imagination''.

Linda used the same method to teach her daughter how to tell a story. ''I tried to explain a writing structure to her, so we started with questions: Who is it that in this story? Is it a man or woman,
child or adult? What do they look like? What kind of person are
they? What is the problem?... and the story began.’’ She continued showing how much she knows about proper writing structure and plot
setting. Her daughter suggested that she should write her own story one day. And so she did!

Her inspiration comes from many people in many ways. ''When
I see someone with such difficulties, facing problems and yet being
able to take the time and have the compassion to reach out to others, it
inspires me to do more''

When it comes to suggesting other authors, Linda states that
new authors are creating amazing works. ''In my own works, I will one day go back and edit
more. I am still learning and intend to never stop trying to learn.
If you don't have the financial resources to hire help (editors), it can be a difficult thing to edit your own work successfully. Seeing a
writer develop something that can hold your interest and make you want to read
just a bit more, it is special. I think my favorite author and
book is often the one I am enjoying at the moment''.

As the interview goes on, I identify with many of Linda’s
opinions about writing. ''One of the hardest things to write as an author, is
your own story’’. I myself feel more inspired listening to this, as I know how
hard it is to type down your life’s most fascinating and also painful memories. ''I did not ever want to write it. Parts of that book are
things I never had words for, and could only speak about it in a controlled way,
not getting into depth of emotion. Parts of that book I did not know
until I sat typing it''. The things she didn't know, came to her many years later, when she remembered moments of a particularly horrifying night. Linda, was in a head on accident. ''Some of the memories were a shock to me. Bits and pieces flew at
me, and I couldn't control them. For a long time I had wanted to be able to fill in the
pieces, but parts of my memory were gone. The doctor said it was a
blessing and he hoped I never remembered.’’. But as she started typing, the memories came back after all these years. ''It was not like remembering, but more like a flash back and
as if I was there. My face hit the windshield and it broke into tiny
squares of razor sharp glass. The motor of the car was crushed in on us
and pinned my foot to the floor. That is the only reason I was not out on
the highway but it made a whip action flinging my body as the car then
spun. I could
not remember feeling my face being shredded until I no longer looked
human''.

For Linda, this was the hardest thing she has ever written, and her readers have realized her pain. ''Some of the messages brought tears to my eyes. When others
said it had touched them and gave them hope, I knew writing it was what was
meant to be''.

Having read her novel Danny, which she feels passionate
about, I bring back so many memories of my own painful past, which now, I’m glad to
say I feel liberated from. ''It is about a young boy who suffered abuse,
felt so alone and helpless and found a friend, who no one else could see but him. He thought it might be a guardian angel but I can not tell you or it would ruin
the reading of the book. No matter what age we are, abuse can make us
vulnerable. This thing that appeared, told the boy You can call me
Danny. Who and what Danny really was, was something only time would
tell.''

Linda claims that the best part of her success as an author, is hearing from readers. She loves meeting
everyone. ''I have done several speaking engagements and have a few others
scheduled. I love seeing
others get excited and filled with enthusiasm for their own projects. I
think that is part of why I started a writers group’’.

Linda, already started working on her new novel. ''I
will tell you a secret about it. From the time I first finished Journey
Home, I had an idea to create three separate stories, even different genres that they connect
in a well hidden way''. She will also start a series of books for children with a co-author. Stories, which her grandson helped develop. ''I guess because he grew up hearing
about the stories and writing. He is only 8 years
old. I am not just giving him credit but really working with him as an
author of some books I think will be fun and have a little something special''. I guess talent runs in her family.

She finished the interview with a quote. ‘’Life, goes on’’.

No matter what obstacles she meets in her Odyssey, this woman remains strong. We wish her health and more success. Keep making us love
your novels Linda, you are truly magnificent.